


safe and sound

by kaze no kokyuu (Tigurijia)



Category: Kamen Rider - All Media Types, Kamen Rider Zero-One
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Post-Season/Series Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26325841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tigurijia/pseuds/kaze%20no%20kokyuu
Summary: A light, familiar touch forced him to open his eyes and Jin's smile entered his field of vision, loosening the grip around his heart. He stared at him lost, not understanding how he could have fallen asleep in rest mode right on Jin's laps. The youngest laughed at his father's reaction, moving a lock of hair from his face with his hand, looking at him.Jin was alive and that was all that mattered.[SPOILERS/REFERENCES for Zero One ending!]
Relationships: Horobi & Jin (Kamen Rider Zero-One)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	safe and sound

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Dizzy for beta reading this story!

He was exhausted, strength slowly abandoning his body, making him unable to stand on his own legs; he had just faced the most demanding battle of his life that had led him to overcome the limits of a Humagear, making Horobi helpless. His body was completely out of use, metal wires came out of the artificial muscles causing sparks and even though he could no longer feel pain, it was instinctive to close both eyes in the hope of escaping from that nightmare.  
He had always wondered what the substance of dreams were, but living that nightmare with his eyes open had been the worst experience since he had been built. That excruciating pain that he would never have imagined could feel was still vivid in his chest, that feeling of anger mixed with bewilderment and that attempt to get rid of it seemed impossible to drive him away.  
And then again, the feeling of wetness on his cheeks, the tears flowing like a river in flood impossible to govern, just like his feelings. He felt like a child in swaddling clothes unable to find peace because no one around him was able to understand his needs... Perhaps because his only source of comfort no longer existed, Jin was no longer there.

***

A light, familiar touch forced him to open his eyes and Jin's smile entered his field of vision, loosening the grip around his heart. He stared at him lost, not understanding how he could have fallen asleep in rest mode right on Jin's laps. The youngest laughed at his father's reaction, moving a lock of hair from his face with his hand, looking at him.

"You were restless in your sleep, so I thought you'd be more comfortable here than in that uncomfortable chair!" 

Horobi made a fake outrageous cry in front of that brazenness, trying in vain to stand up while Jin handled the cables that led from his head to the power unit where they usually regained their strength. 

"You shouldn't do this kind of thing, you know it can cause damage." 

"You know I would never do that." He replied immediately but always with a smile on his face that Horobi reciprocated with an understanding expression.  
In the last months his life had radically changed and the days with Jin at his side passed relatively quickly, unlike before he wasn’t one hundred percent blinded by his target but he was able to spend every moment with a different meaning, in a certain sense perhaps more satisfying. He didn’t miss his previous life and although he still struggled to show his affection to Jin, his son, on the contrary, seemed more affectionate than before. Horobi wondered which of the two had changed the most and although he couldn’t find a real answer to that question, he decided to accept things as they were going, without straining them. 

"Rest well Dad, I'm here." Jin whispered, gently running his hand over Horobi's eyelids, accompanying him towards what might have looked like an artificial sleep, but at that moment it assumed the appearance of a silent lullaby.  
The Humagear father curled his lips in a smile typical of his own, slightly pronounced but grateful when it came to Jin. Horobi suddenly found those words reassuring because he knew that they were the truth, he could afford to close his eyes even for a moment and once opened again, he would find Jin there.

In moments like these, tears, nightmares, the heartbreak, everything seemed to cancel itself; Horobi stretched out a hand and placed it on Jin's hand, holding it gently, and although he couldn’t see his face clearly, Horobi knew that Jin was smiling too. As absurd as that thought might sound, he realized that a part of himself was perhaps more childish than Jin was, and in reality, perhaps, the latter had always been more adult than he seemed.

But, after all, with Jin he could afford it, pretending to be who he wanted.


End file.
